![]() “You’re going on this adventure, and you’re going to enjoy it.” And then the prince got mad at me all over again. My character felt some magic spell come over him, and he was forced to say we’d head towards the enemy stronghold. What happened next made me burst out laughing. I reloaded an earlier save and went through the conversation again, except this time I opted to head towards the prince’s city. Who cared if he died along the way?īut the prince was so reproachful, I felt guilty. It promised adventure and glory-and besides, the prince of men was kind of a jerk anyway. I first said we’d go visit the stronghold. You’re railroaded by the invisible, guiding hand.Įarly in the game my character at the time, a varl (gigantic man with horns) named Hakon, had the opportunity to choose our direction-would we go towards the capital city of the land of men and deliver the prince safely, or would we risk our entire caravan to go check out rumors of an enemy stronghold? You don’t get to choose to abandon the adventure and go exploring. You’ll never actually need the map in the entire game, since your characters proceed down a largely linear path. It’s huge, and each location has associated lore to pore over. Open up the map and prepare to feel overwhelmed. In these moments, The Banner Saga feels like a grand adventuret. Every time my rag-tag caravan of refugees, warriors, and soldiers of fortune set out across the landscape, Austin Wintory’s soundtrack swelling in the background, I got excited. Playing The Banner Saga, it’s impossible not to get caught up somewhat in the visuals. Combat is played out on a square grid, and many of the animations here are given the same care as the general art style-for instance, the way characters stagger after receiving blows, or crumple after they’re knocked out of the battle. The game is beautiful, albeit rudimentary in many ways. Dialogue is presented as a series of still frames with simulated camera moves, and primarily without voice acting-expect to read a lot in The Banner Saga.Ĭonversations play out in dialogue trees, but the art is still beautiful. Your caravan trudges through breathtaking scenery, crimson banner fluttering overhead. It’s not like the rest of the game looks shabby. Of course, it gets you needlessly excited because nothing else in the entire game is animated in this manner, but I can excuse that-The Banner Saga came from a small team with a small crowd-funded budget. The game puts its best foot forward right at the start with a short, fully-animated scene that stylistically meshes with the best Disney classics. And wow, is The Banner Saga stunning to look at.
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